UCLA Football: Three more players we’d love to see change positions
Just a few days into spring practice the UCLA Football program has seen a few defections, new practice philosophies and most notably, a few position changes. While we can’t say for certain there won’t be any more, here’s a handful we’d love to imagine.
Chip Kelly hasn’t wasted any time in making moves the roster as he sees fit. UCLA Football DT Boss Tagaloa has moved to center and former TE Moses Robinson-Carr also flipped to the other side of the ball to join the defensive line.
This coaching staff is clearly committed to building the type of team they want both mentally and physically. These kinds of moves create conversation, builds excitement and, what I consider most exciting, gets fans asking, “What would player X look like at this position?”.
I couldn’t let the fans have all the fun so here are three players I’d love to move and watch them dominate.
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1. Rick Wade-DE (New Position-Tight End)
You’re all probably tired of hearing how much I like Wade as a player but I’ll never stop telling anyone who will listen that this guy is a stud. Standing six-foot-six and 280 pounds, Wade has the size to threaten any defense and be a dangerous weapon in the redzone.
He can high point the ball over any defender. His top end speed makes him dangerous matchup in the middle of the field proving that he isn’t just a plodder. There’s probably a .0001% this move would ever happen especially with all of the depth at TE and the need for bodies along the DL. Still, I’d love to see what Wade can do with the ball in his hands as a UCLA Football TE.
2. Jaelan Phillips-DE/OLB (New Position-Quarterback)
This is how you know I’m having fun.
Phillips struggled with the injury bug during his freshman campaign but when he was on the field you could see why he became such a coveted recruit for the UCLA Football program in 2017. An impressive athlete for a guy his size, you rarely see QBs with his type of build. However Kelly has seen a QB built this way and even coached against one in a national championship game.
Cam Newton was the Auburn QB when the Ducks faced off against the Tigers in the 2011 BCS National Championship. Kelly knows what type of preparation is required of teams when they have to face that kind of athlete at the QB position and the big man would make second level defenders shake in their cleats if they had to tackle him in the open field. This move will never, ever happen but can you imagine the Bruins having their own Newton with Kelly calling the shots?
3. Bolu Olorunfunmi-RB (New Position-Safety)
I’m all for moving ball carriers to the defensive side of the ball if it can be justified. Often the vision they rely on to find holes for big gains aides them in figuring out where attack and made big plays. However perhaps one of the best results of moving someone over is that they finally get the chance to do some hitting.
Bolu has been thought of as the bruiser in the backfield to Soso Jamabo‘s role as the slasher. Bolu runs hard and doesn’t shy away from contact. While I could get nitpicky with his overall game as a RB, there’s no doubt he would gladly lay the wood. The UCLA Football program has had good recently when it comes to moving RBs to the defensive side of the ball, (Anthony Barr, Adarius Pickett), and stand to make another big move with this hypothetical position change.
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So what do you think? Would you be on board with these moves or do you think there are better candidates? What we do know for sure is that Kelly is always going to be on the lookout for players he can maximize as he looks to turn this UCLA Football program into a powerhouse program.